The present invention relates to a dry storage system which can be used to store vehicles or other equipment and, more particularly, to a system for storing vehicles or other equipment for long periods of time which can be easily deployed and redeployed and which enables the vehicle or equipment to be alternately readily placed into, and taken out of storage.
It is often desirable for various reasons to be able to store vehicles or other equipment for relatively long periods of time while preserving the option of quickly accessing the vehicles or other equipment when necessary. It is essential to control the storage conditions so as to minimize or eliminate any deterioration which would be suffered by the vehicle or equipment if stored in the open.
One method of storing vehicles or equipment is to construct a warehouse into which vehicles or other equipment to be stored can be driven or otherwise placed. Since a warehouse is a permanent and rigid structure, it suffers from a number of disadvantage.
First, the size and shape of the warehouse, once it is designed and built, are fixed. It is generally difficult and expensive to add additional warehouse space to an existing warehouse should the existing structure prove inadequate for the required service. Similarly, it is wasteful to under-utilize a warehouse which proves to have been over-designed relative to the actual use.
Second, a warehouse, as a permanent structure, cannot be easily moved, should it be later determined that its original location is, for some reason, no longer optimal. In the most typical case a warehouse may not be moved at all.
Third, in the event of a fire, explosion, or similar catastrophe, it is likely, because of the close proximity of the stored items, that a large number or portion of the vehicles or other equipment stored in the warehouse will be adversely affected.
It has been recognized that there is a need for a dry storage system which will overcome the difficulties inherent in a warehouse structure. Specifically, it has been recognized that it would be useful to have a way of storing vehicles and other equipment which could easily and precisely accommodate any number or quantity of vehicles or other equipment, as the numbers and quantities change with time. It has been similarly recognized that it would be desirable to have a dry storage system which could be easily moved and redeployed so that each vehicle or other equipment is always stored in the optimal location whenever desired. It has been additional been recognized that it would be advantageous to have a dry storage system which will ensure that only a single vehicle or piece of equipment will be affected in the event of a fire, an explosion, or other catastrophic event.
In an effort to overcome some of these disadvantages, there has been developed dry storage systems whose key distinguishing feature is that they provide separate storage for each vehicle or piece of equipment. Each individual storage unit typically includes at least two pieces of plastic, fabric, or other covering material--namely, a base member and a covering member. The vehicle or piece of equipment to be stored (hereinafter referred to as "stored item") is placed on an essentially flat the bottom sheet, the base member. The covering member, which is usually a piece of plastic or other material contoured and shaped so as to accommodate the external shape of a specific stored item, is used to cover the top and sides of the stored item. The covering member is subsequently attached to the base member via a zipper or any other convenient means.
To prevent damage to the covering member which would be caused by the action of corners and other sharp edges and protrusions of the stored item, one could first cover the vehicle or equipment with soft materials, such as sponge or padding, prior to covering the stored item with the covering member.
While this system is, in many ways, superior to the fixed warehousing method, the improved system still suffers from a number of disadvantages which reduce its usefulness. Since the covering is in relatively tight contact with the stored item, each type of stored item requires its own, factory produced, custom contoured and manufactured storage system elements. This complicates the storage system since a large variety of dry storage units must be stocked and maintained in order to accommodate a variety of stored items. A secondary disadvantage associated with the relative tightness of the fit of such storage units is the inevitable tearing and general wearing of the cover caused by contact of the cover with sharp edges and protrusions during periodic deployments.
Another disadvantage which affects these systems is related to the fact that putting an item into storage and taking it out of storage is a highly labor-intensive task. The stored item is sometimes first be wrapped with protective material. The item must subsequently be wrapped with a relatively tightly-fitting covering member. Finally, the base and covering members must be closely aligned with each other in order to effectively operate the mechanism, typically a zipper of some type, which serves to join the base and the covering members. A related disadvantage is that because the storage unit is made up of two separate parts, during high winds it is possible that the covering member can be separated from the base member, thereby exposing the stored item. This disadvantage works to effectively limit the height of such a storage system, and thus limits its applicability to the storage of items which are no taller than a certain height, which height for each specific case is determined by the anticipated wind speeds and other factors.
In an attempt to overcome the disadvantage associated with the separate dry storage system described above, which requires that each type of stored item have its own specially shaped storage unit, there has been developed at least one dry storage system in the form of a tunnel, so that it is capable of accommodating a large variety of stored items. The presently known dry storage tunnel is made of up of two parts--a base member and a covering member. The skeleton of the tunnel is made up of a series of fiberglass poles, each bent into a semi-circle to give the structure its shape. Because of the one-piece construction of each pole, the maximum height of the dry storage structure is limited to approximately 2.6 meters, which is adequate for small items such as motors and aircraft engines, but not sufficiently tall to accommodate most vehicles and other large equipment. In addition, the use of a two-piece construction for the covering makes the entire dry storage unit more difficult to use and relatively unstable.
There is thus a widely recognized need for a dry storage system which will facilitate the storing of a varying number or quantity of stored items of different types, which would be easily movable and redeployable so that each stored item is always stored in the optimal location, which will ensure that only a single or small number of stored items will be affected in the event of a fire or explosion, and which can accommodate the ready and quick putting into storage or the release from storage of the store items.